Friday, July 2, 2010

STAT

Whoa!!! In my last blog I wrote that I need diet wine "STAT".. I don't know exactly what STAT stands for but I do know what it means. And WOW I got to hear it at Children's Hospital LA regarding Adorable 13's brain scan. When you hear "I want a third CScan on him STAT" about your son, you might as well throw up right there. You are in the hospital after all. They are used to cleaning up vomit. Really though, so NOT funny.

Adorable 13, in his continuing effort to kill me (Stuey), took a massive tumble on his skateboard. This on the day Paraguay was leaving us. A day I was trying to prepare myself for...unsuccessfully. AFS, the exchange student group tells you to make plans for your family for the day of and a few days after your student leaves...as a distraction... so you won't be so upset. Well I guess since I didn't make specific plans for us post Paraguay departure...Adorable 13 decided he would take care of that.

Paraguay's last day:First thing in the morning, we rushed to the mall to exchange an item and pick up one last USA gift. Back home to pick up Bio. Drop the girls off for their last "mani/pedi", then rush home to shower. The plan at this point was to pick up the girls, bring them home, load up Paraguay, go out to a lovely lunch then drop her off with a tearful goodbye.

OH NOOOOOO!!!Things did not go as planned. I get out of the shower and am applying the million lotions that are NOT slowing the aging process and I hear Hub call to me and ask me to come downstairs...He called me by name. I never hear my name..clue number one. I tell him I am not dressed and he said "that doesn't matter, please come down here now"..I KNEW ...I start downstairs asking him to tell me...PLEASE what is it??"Alex (aka Adorable naughty boy) fell on his skateboard."

In the family room Adorable is laying on the couch, his head in Hub's lap. He is crying and strange looking. I look at Hub's as he calmly tells me that he is going into shock and that it is bad....I am the Dr. in this house, but when things are huge, hub knows....Ok ER. I run upstairs throw on clothes...I hear myself whispering "Oh no oh no oh God..."We get Adorable up to walk him to the car and he is shaking and babbling.I need to stay and get Paraguay off. She is travelling with a huge group and there is no changing that.They go to the ER. I go to the get the girls. Bio knows by looking at me. We rush home, get poor Paraguay together and all (I mean ALL) of her stuff in my car.Off to the ER. Walking up, I see Hub's car sort of parked at the door...at the door...not in a space. Oh GOD....Get inside and the check in lady says something about being the mom and tells me to wait there. She motions to another ER employee and they walk off in a huddle. WTF???? That is my baby.....Get in there and find a team of people around my baby on the bed with Hub's hands holding him. They start talking and the Hub is looking at me in a way I will never forget. He is the bravest man I know and he was so visibly scared, my whole body started shaking. I heard words like"if he recovers" and more, but that is enough.

Adorable had been majorly drugged to calm him for the CScan, but now they needed to wake him for a neuro exam. Hub told me I didn't want to be in there when they did. He told me he was not good. That is when Mommy Tiger kicked back in and I was in it. Look out, and from that moment on I never left him.

It was so horrible. We were being transported to Children's....the best kid hospital in the city, after the second CScan, to make sure he was stable for transport. STABLE???? At one point we were to be heliported....OMG!!! But that would have been a cool thing for Adorable to tell his friends while giving the Helmet Safety talk (which he WILL be doing).

We were in that ER for 12 plus hours and in that time Adorable woke a few times and each time his speech and memory improved a little. At this point Hub told me he was going to be fine. It was not to make me feel better (everyman for himself right now..and really no judgement here), but he meant it and he knew it. I always believe him, so I knew he would be ok. And when Adorable spoke to me, I knew Hub was right on.

Bio (rock that she is) was so scared. Paraguay had to leave us from the ER... our big Goodbye. She left in tears not knowing what would become of Adorable 13.

Eventually we made it to Children's...via ambulance (anti-climatic) and were admitted to the PICU (Pediatric ICU, you know what that is) and holy crap....it was just like TV shows. Amazing and Awful....

When there was a calm moment we learned that Adorable had two significant bruises on the front of his brain, some bleeding on the back of his brain and a slight skull fracture...ARE YOU KIDDING ME??? NO.

The story continues for four more world changing days. He did not improve enough on day two/three (not sure) so the head of Neurosurgery orders the third CSacn STAT... REALLY STAT? Why? Why? Why? What is wrong? He was not getting better and he was gray-ish. But my mommy instinct told me and so did Hub that he was gonna be fine. But STAT???? This is when I got really scared.

I didn't know how scared until my Angel (Karen our Dr.) told me the results were great and that he WOULD NOT get worse. He would just take a while to get well......OK tears then....I am the biggest cry baby in the world, but never in the midst of the crisis. But the minute that there is a slight reprieve, flood.

We are home now, thank God for Adorable and the hospital staff... I think I should probably send an apology card to that lovely housekeeping woman that tried to empty our trash while Adorable was sleeping....really sorry, but he needed sleep and I am a mamma bear, mamma tiger.... or any scary animal.And probably to that nurse that took five minutes to get the morphine..yeah sorry..And to the tech that tried to take his blood pressure when he was starting to doze...And to the entire floor when his IV machine went off....OK EVERYONE......SORRY. GOD I am sorry already. (But seriously a great hospital...really)

The poor baby has eaten next to nothing in five days. He has been out of bed only a few times and has had a non-stop head ache. He will improve more quickly now in his 'cave room' in the "Quiet house" (says so on the front door). Although, we still have a really long way to go...

I do miss Paraguay, but clever Adorable really really gave us the ULTIMATE distraction. hhmmm??? Will he expect a 'thank you'? NOT GETTING ONE!!!

P.S. Adorable will be grounded for life for this...ha,yeah right..And I am now running the Children's Hospital LA....just until real estate picks up.P.P.S. I am singing; "When you sleep, I sleep..just like that"---get J.V.?

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About Me

I am a Real Estate agent, wife, mother of two bio's, one step, (no exchange children currently) and many others that have come stayed and left. We have two dogs and a really pretty house (when it is clean). Our life is really busy, often chaotic and to me ALWAYS funny (ok not always).